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Monday, December 11, 2017

Ayrton Senna was the three time Formula 1 champion from Brazil that raced for the Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, and Williams teams in F1 from 1984-1994. NMS is proud to announce that we have acquired one of the most famous cars in F1 history, the 1988 McLaren MP4/4. This Honda turbo powered car was used by Ayrton Senna and four time champ Alain Prost to win 15 of the 16 races held in 1988, so it's one of the all time greats.

While we don't like to talk about money very often, NMS was able to purchase the car for $2.99. Yes, that's right, two dollars and ninety-nine cents. Naturally a REAL MP4/4 would go for millions, so maybe we should point out that the $2.99 version is an extra car you can buy and race in the Codemasters Formula 1 2017 game on your computer. Oh, you didn't think we bought a real race car for $2.99 did you? Oh well! Codemasters

In other Ayrton Senna car news, in reality, the real McLaren Automotive Group over the weekend just unveiled their newest road car. This monster has 787 horsepower, only costs a million dollars or so, and has been named in honor of Ayrton, so the model will be known as the "Senna." Here at NMS north we've just moved the McLaren Senna to the top of our lottery-winning-fantasy-car-to-buy list. McLaren: Senna

Thursday, December 7, 2017

NMS has confirmed that they won't be driving in Formula 1 next year. Well, unless someone offers us a driver's seat, then we'll say yes in a heartbeat! Seriously, the Williams team still has one seat open, but all the other teams have announced their drivers for 2018. In other words, we'll be following the races on line, on TV, and just maybe live if we can get to Montreal or Austin for the closest races.

The good news (in my opinion) is that F1 returns to both Germany and France, so I bet the teams and drivers are happy to have more races close to their European bases, compared to the far off races that force them to work and compete across so many time zones.

Another highlight coming up will be what is the first triple-header of F1 races in three consecutive races. NMS hasn't been following F1 since it started in 1950, but we've been told that the stretch of races June 24 in France, July 1 in Austria, and July 8 in Great Britain are the first time this has happened. Whether or not this impacts on the driving for good and bad, we'll find out. As a fan, I think it's a good idea! On the other hand, if NFL football is special because there are only 16 games, but baseball is overkill because there are 165 games in a season, then maybe the F1 schedule of 21 races should be about right. With France, Austria, and Great Britain all being closer together than all of Texas, what's the big deal!

Thursday, November 30, 2017

We know you're sad about the end of IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula 1 and a bunch of other motor sports activities for the year, but THIS SATURDAY the Formula E season kicks off again! Formula E is all electric cars racing around tight city circuits in some of the biggest cities on the planet, with a season that stretches from December to July. You can find out tons of information on Formula E at the official website: FORMULA E

We've watched a few races on TV in the past, and a few key points really stick out. Firstly, well, they're electric, so they don't sound like NASCAR or anything else you might be used to. Next, the batteries only last so long, so instead of pit stops with tire changes or refuelling, the drivers park their car, hop out, and hop into a 2nd car for the rest of the race. Driver wise, if you've followed other motorsports (mostly F1), you'll recognize at least some of the names of the drivers who've competed in F1 or LeMans, or a couple of them that are sons of world champion drivers (Nico Prost, Nelson Piquet Jr.) On the team side, more and more of the big players in auto manufacturing are getting involved with this sport, and with the increase in electric cars and hybrids, this is probably a good thing (Renault, Jaguar, Audi.)

Another unique feature of Formula E is the "Fan Boost" voting, where normal people like you and me (OK, like you), can vote once a day for one driver to get an extra boost of power during the race. Somehow they do this with the electric powered cars, so if nothing else it's a way to get more interactive with fans.

With the NMS-North relocation to just outside New York City, we'll see if we can get into the city next summer and report on the race there. Or maybe both, since NY like several other stops on the tour will feature not 1, but 2 races in a weekend. This kind of format works well in other series to give fans more on-track action to see if they've paid to attend in person.

On the not so perfect-happy-good news side, naturally with races all around the world they will be happening live in the middle of the night here in the US, so this weekend in Hong Kong's races are at 2AM Eastern. On the good news side, you can sleep normally and catch them on Fox networks and the Fox Sports Go app anytime, since it seems that no one watches boring old live TV anymore: Hong Kong Fox Schedule